


XXY

by IdleGlowingPixels



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Action, Aftermath of Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Post-Canon, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23048029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdleGlowingPixels/pseuds/IdleGlowingPixels
Summary: Moving forward from their chaotic criminal history, the Rowdyruff Boys align with the Powerpuff Girls, becoming “XXY.” Just as the team begins to live as normal a life as superhero teenagers can have, the Boys’ past comes back to haunt them, a familiar foe making his persuasive return.
Relationships: Boomer/Bubbles Utonium, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch/Buttercup Utonium, Mitch Mitchelson/Robin Snyder
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. He's Back

**Warning: This story touches upon dark topics involving underage characters. This is not suited for people under age 18 and those who are faint of heart. Read at your own risk.**

———

Chapter 1

He's Back

———

The City of Townsville, where children giggle and play together in the park, happily taking advantage of the bright and gorgeous morning that blessed them. The trees provided perfect shade from the heated August day as flowerbeds beamed a warm palette with cool undertones in the sunlight. Parents laid out picnics over checkered blankets as birds above chirped their lovely songs.

Softly landing at the park’s entrance, Bubbles lifted her sunglasses up to rest on her forehead. After pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she shrugged up her big and sparkly blue purse and proceeded forward.

Before she could reach her goal, however, children practically crowded around her, asking her a barrage of questions. “Bubbles, can you sign my notebook?” “Can I braid your hair?” “How can I be a Powerpuff Girl too?”

She giggled at their excitement, taking a pen out of her bag to autograph the kids’ notebooks, binders and folders. “Of course!” After signing some other children’s items, she continued to answer the other questions. “I appreciate the offer, but I like to keep my pigtails as they are!”

Finishing off the signatures, she looked to the little girl who had asked how to be a Powerpuff Girl, getting out some of the hundreds of stickers she had in the black hole that was her purse. “And if you want to be just like a Powerpuff Girl, you need to be courageous, kind, and most importantly —” She handed the little girl the first of the stickers. “— Help others when they need it!”

Bubbles passed out stickers to the kids, of which they all thanked her, then returned to their parents to show them the signatures and stickers they received. As much as she loved to give out stickers to kids, the overwhelming amount of kids in a single location would become crazy at times.

She continued towards the heaping sore thumb of the entire park: the now inactive volcano, smack-dab in the center of the park, where the once-feared Mojo Jojo resided atop it. If it could be removed, it would be an improvement on the park’s forefront. Its shadow loomed over the egregiously long staircase, swallowing the region in front of it. The moat surrounding the volcano’s base continued its flow around in an almost calming motion — some referred to it as a “calm before the storm.”

Instead of actually walking up every step, Bubbles simply flew to the top of the staircase, in front of the door. She knew it would be unlocked — Mojo installed automatic locks forever ago which opened during a specific timeframe — so she slipped into the observatory, completely unnoticed.

Her mission; to secretly check up on Mojo just to make sure he was still out-of-commission as far as villainy goes. Each of the girls snuck into his house every month, and this month just-so-happened to be her turn. She didn’t really mind, considering she had an entire month left before school started, but it was difficult for her to sneak around unnoticed.

It was truly a relief to know that one of her and her sisters' toughest enemies had become dormant over the past few years. Sure, he still built mechas and machinery that _could_ wreak havoc upon the city, but something unknown had made Mojo's evil doings abruptly conclude. Regardless, a looming suspicion that the grumpy old monkey might retaliate one day continued to keep its presence.

There only seemed to be light coming from the living room, so carefully moving to the doorframe of the room, Bubbles rested on the wall, listening in.

And almost immediately, her heart sank as a chill went up her spine.

Slowly peering into the room, she had seen Mojo Jojo speaking with none other than… _HIM_ …There she was, in an ex-villain’s(?) home, which just-so-happened to have the evilest of evils, who disappeared years ago, sitting on his couch.

The demon had drastically changed his appearance since he stopped showing up back in 2003; He had an undercut as opposed to His previous short mullet, and an overcoat with an interior that matched His puffy, cloud-like scarf. He also wore shorts — which was surprising to her — that had fishnet stockings underneath and He started wearing earrings, which were black studs. His iconic thigh-high, spike-heeled ballet boots were the only aspect of his original wardrobe that remained.

The demon peered down to Mojo, a claw covering his mouth. He seemed to be carefully pondering something, which wasn’t the greatest thing to see, considering no one’s seen HIM...Either that or He went undetected until now.

As He began to speak, Bubbles started recording their conversation with her cell phone. “I highly doubt those three are prepared for a fight. Their coordination with each other is passable at best, and only Brick’s ever outsmarted me…” HIM brushed a claw through his hair, a hint of aggravation in his tone. “Those damn Girls are more synchronized in their strategies!”

 _Brick...? Who’s that…?_ Bubbles thought to herself, maintaining her silence.

“The boys have their own form of synchronization on the battlefield,” Mojo rubbed an eye, fatigued from his lack of rest, “You just have not seen it.”

HIM crossed a leg, leaning forward. “Oh? How so?”

“Well, Brick was always a more... _controlling_ leader, and because of that he never takes input from Butch or Boomer.” Mojo picked up his coffee mug from the table keeping the two evils from being too close. “With the Powerpuff Girls, Blossom can develop the same attitude with Bubbles and Buttercup, but that stubborn nature is reserved from the lack of necessity.”

He wasn’t wrong about Blossom being stubborn, which caused Bubbles a bit of unease. However, putting two and two together, her understanding of the subject of conversation made her even more uneasy: _They’re talking about the Rowdyruff Boys!_ Aside from HIM, they were practically second-best when it came to hostility and aggression in battle, and while she feared the older boys, her opposing equivalent was an entirely different case of childhood crush. She could go on for days about his shiny blonde hair and his bold blue eyes...But now wasn’t the time to focus on such things!

Leaning in a little closer, she continued watching them as HIM’s voice went low. “How is it unnecessary?”

“Have you _seen_ the crime rates lately? They are nothing but _laughable_!” Boasting, Mojo walked over to a stack of newspapers he kept in the corner of the living room. “These reports almost make me wish I had the motivation to keep destroying this blasted city as a villain.” He tossed a rolled-up newspaper to the table, which HIM promptly picked up and began studying.

If she were to be honest, Bubbles was rather proud of how much she and her sisters had done since they hit double-digits, and HIM’s reaction to such success amused her. “ _WHAT_?!”

“I told you so.”

“THIS IS PREPOSTEROUS!”

“Indeed,” Mojo scoffed, “The newer villains are a mockery of what the two of us had stood for.”

HIM slammed the newspaper back onto the glass table that surprisingly didn’t break. “How has it gotten _this_ bad?! I’ve only been in Hell for six years!”

“You are asking the wrong person, I’m afraid.”

“Why did you even stop? You’re not _that_ old, and you even have Chemical X in your blood!”

“You are correct in that I am not old for my kind as well as having Chemical X in my bloodstream, however, I have grown bored of the Powerpuff Girls and I cannot be bothered to risk another jail sentence.” Shuddering, Mojo recollected. “The last time I was there, I was thrown about like some puny animal!”

HIM failed to hold back His laughter. “Oh, _really_ now?”

“DO _NOT_ LAUGH AT ME, YOU CAKE-FACED CRUSTACEAN!” It took Bubbles all of her strength to avoid laughing as Mojo slammed his tiny fists on the table. “I, MOJO JOJO, AM _NOT_ SOME PUNY ANIMAL! I AM MOJO JOJO, AND THEREFORE, I SHOULD BE TREATED WITH MUCH MORE RESPECT!”

Hunching forward from laughing so hard, HIM wiped a hear from His eye. “Mm hmm. You know, I have as much respect for you as my respect for your brats: minimalistic.”

“Well, if you have had such a hard time with the Boys, then perhaps you should finally stick to our previously-made custody agreement!”

“In your dreams, Mojo; now that you’re docile, I can’t risk them winding up the same way. Besides, if they did end up going good, I could kill them in an instant through my contract with Brick.”

Mojo went noticeably silent at that response. Bubbles nearly gasped, covering her mouth before she could accidentally reveal herself. Sure, the Rowdyruff Boys were _evil_ , but she never would’ve imagined their leader would make a _contract_ with _HIM_ ! It explained how they were still alive, but…she would never consider such a thing just to live…And he must have made the contract right before they were resurrected, so they were still only five when he made it. _What a cruel fate..._

“Well, I believe I should get going; I’m sending them out on their 16th birthday, so even if they fail to fulfill their end of the agreement, they can at least see this pathetic excuse for a ‘crime-ridden city’ one more time.” HIM stood up, His ever-present smile returning to His face. “Be prepared, because if you think you can fool me into revealing everything for even a second, you are a foolish little girl, Bubbles.”

This time, she really did gasp. How long had He known she was there?! The warning was enough to scare her into quickly fleeing the building, dashing home through the air.

———

Nearly crashing into the walkway of her home, Bubbles ran to the house in a fearful daze. She swung the door open and immediately started looking left and right for her sisters.

“Blossom?! Buttercup?!” Dashing all throughout the house, she continued to call their names in a panic.

Just as she was about to fly downstairs into the lab, Buttercup opened the screen door from the outside of their backyard, a scuffed soccer ball wrapped in her arm. “You’re back already, Bubs? Guess it wasn’t too eventful then, huh —”

“Oh, my goodness, Buttercup!” Bubbles tightly embraced her sister. “It — it was _awful_!”

Buttercup pat Bubbles on the back, startled from the sudden embrace. “Shit, what happened? What’s that old bastard planning now?”

“It wasn’t Mojo…” Bubbles began to sob. “It was...HIM…”

Buttercup dropped her soccer ball on the floor. “No! You’re kidding!” She gripped Bubbles’ shoulders tightly. “ _Please_ tell me this is some bullshit prank you and Bloss are pulling on me!”

“I — I don’t like pranks,” Bubbles sniffled, “And even — even if I did, I would never joke about HIM…”

Shaking her head, Buttercup lowered her hands, tightly gripping them into fists. “That sick sunova bitch...What did he do to you?”

“He warned me about something, and I’ll tell you when Blossom’s here too but — but He also knew I was there to hear enough of His conversation with Mojo to get the gist of His plans…”

“Did He touch you? Hit you? I swear if He laid a damn hair on you —”

“No...He just warned me.”

A scruff and raspy voice interrupted their discussion. “So I know this is a bad time — a _really_ bad time — but do you know where Robbie went?”

“Mitch, for fuck’s sake!” Buttercup turned to face him angrily. “HIM’s back and you just care about talking to your damn girlfriend?!”

“Whoa, whoa, hold the fuck up — _HIM_ is _back_?!”

“Were you not paying attention or something?!”

“I just came inside! When you first walked in, I was taking my sneakers off!”

“Well one, wow, you’re really slow at taking shoes off, and two, maybe you should listen next time, dumbass! The door was right open!”

“Geez, how many fucking times do I gotta apologize?!”

“You haven’t even apologized _once_!”

Bubbles once again tightened her embrace. “Buttercup, stop yelling please; he didn’t know —”

“What in the world is with all the ruckus up here?” Blossom could be heard walking up the stairs from the lab’s entrance.

Robin’s voice followed right behind. “Are you two arguing about who cheated in your dumb games _again_?”

“No, Bubbles came back from Mojo’s place and that fugly bastard _HIM_ was there!” Buttercup aggressively exclaimed.

Blossom’s eyes widened. “What…?”

“It’s true…” Bubbles wiped her eyes with a hand. “And He knew I was there too…”

“Shoot...What were they discussing?”

———

She proceeded to tell the other four teens about everything, even sharing the rather horrifying audio recording of the conversation. The only time they laughed was at the part where Mojo got extremely offended about being degraded, but the laughter was cut short by the end of their conversation.

“ _In your dreams, Mojo; now that you’re docile, I can’t risk them winding up the same way. Besides, if they did end up going good, I could kill them in an instant through my contract with Brick._ ” Those soul-crushing words were repeated, and the others looked to Bubbles’ phone and each other with mortified looks. After some time, the recording continued picking up audio. “ _Well, I believe I should get going; I’m sending them out on their 16th birthday, so even if they fail to fulfill their end of the agreement, they can at least see this pathetic excuse for a ‘crime-ridden city’ one more time_ .” HIM could be heard rising from the chair He sat in as the last words of the recording were spoken: “ _Be prepared, because if you think you can fool me into revealing everything for even a second, you are a foolish little girl, Bubbles._ ” Her gasp was heard at the very end, and a small bit of her dashing away was picked up before the recording concluded.

Blossom covered her mouth. “That’s terrible…”

“Terrible? _Terrible_ ?! Shit was downright _horrific_!” Mitch exclaimed. “I’m not afraid of many things, but that crazy motherfucker is one of them!”

Robin shook her head. “It doesn’t even matter that the boys are evil; I can only imagine what they’ve been through…”

“Talk about some bad luck.” Buttercup put her hand on her hip. “Not like they didn’t ask for it, though.”

Turning to Buttercup, Blossom yelled. “Buttercup, do _not_ say that!”

“What? It’s true, you heard HIM — He said Red made the contract with Him, am I wrong?”

“You don’t know the circumstances of the making of their agreement; it’s wrong to assume such a bold thing. HIM is well-known for his manipulative capabilities, you should know that first-hand.”

“Pfft, I trust those assholes as far as I could throw ‘em.”

“You’ve thrown one up to the stratosphere before with ease.”

“Ack — you — you know what I meant!”

Bubbles propped her head off of the table, recovering from hearing the discussion once more. “What are we going to do?”

“Hmm…” Blossom put a hand to her chin — her signature stance when in thought. “From what I can remember, their birthday is some time this month, so our deadline for preparing is fastly approaching. But from what it sounds like at the beginning, they’re inexperienced in combat, and we can always end a battle quickly using Antidote X, should the need arise.”

Wincing at the thought, Bubbles shuddered. “Only as a last resort, though; that stuff is _painful_.”

“I know there’s not much the two of us can do,” Robin gestured to Mitch and herself, “but if we can help in any way, please let us know.”

As a smile crossed her mouth, Blossom glanced at them. “Actually, I think there might be something you can assist us with.”

“And that is…?” Mitch asked with narrowed eyes.

Blossom’s grin grew. “You know how you were their biggest fan as a kid?”

“Ah, geez, that was forever ago…” Scoffing, he contemplated. “Y’know, I think I’ve still got one of those old posters of them…”

“Well, would you be interested in helping them make friends, iffen my plans succeed?”

“Hell yeah!” A nostalgic look glinted in his eyes. “They’re literally edgy guy versions of you three; why _wouldn’t_ I wanna hang out with ‘em?!”

Robin gently smiled at her boyfriend’s kiddish reaction. “I wouldn’t mind either, of course. Anyone can reform if given the right support.”

“I’m glad you see it the same way!” Blossom’s calm expression quickly changed to that of a more serious one. “Right; now that that’s out of the way, we’ll have to pinpoint their birthday to find out how much time we’ll have to prepare.”

Bubbles rose from her seat. “I have a list of birthdays; they _may_ or _may not_ be on there…”

“Man, you even knew the kid’s birthday?” Buttercup snickered. “That crush of yours never really ceased, has it?”

Shocked, Bubbles responded a little too suddenly. “What? Of course it ceased! I was only a little kid!” As her cheeks flushed, she hugged her arms. “But I _may_ have sneaked a present into Mojo’s house for their...8th birthday...” She nervously giggled, becoming rather infatuated with the tiling of the kitchen floor.

“ _Alone_ ?!” Blossom’s eyes widened. “Were you _crazy_?!”

“Umm, people do crazy things when they’re in love…? And besides, I snuck in at, like three in the morning, and only one of them woke up on the way out!”

“ _When was this_?!”

“Like I said, their 8th birthday! You need to pay attention when I’m telling stories, Blossom.”

With a roll of her eyes, Blossom looked to the calendar mounted onto the refrigerator. “Anyways, today is August 2nd...Do you happen to recall what specific day their birthday is?”

“If I had to guess off the top of my head, we’ve got about...a week?”

“Mm…” Once again, she rested a hand on her chin. “Very well. There’s no time like the present; let’s start preparing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working diligently on Chapter 2 thanks to current events. I'm really excited to get the next chapter out, but as always, I want to make sure it's absolutely perfect before it's posted. I'll try to get it out within the month, but if not, April at the latest!
> 
> Thank you for checking out my story and for the kudos! Please stay happy and healthy!


	2. Calm Before The Storm

XXY

Chapter 2

The Calm Before The Storm

———

As Blossom’s phone alarm sounded a cheery tune, she turned to face her nightstand where her phone rested. Her lips curved into a calm smile as she turned off the alarm. Rising from her bed, she stretched and ran her fingers through her hair, whipping some out to her sides confidently.

Letting out a sigh, she moved to her vanity, retrieving her red ribbon. She tied it around her wrist before beginning to brush her hair. Her expression grew dimmer as she continued.

The events of the previous day circled through her mind. Before Bubbles made her dramatic return that afternoon, Blossom had been discussing an order for more uniforms with Robin. Robin was sort of like a secretary for the team; she began taking care of stuff the girls needed for them in middle school. They had been running low on uniforms, seeing as the last order was smaller than usual, so the girls were going to have to take measurements again and go through the motions to get more.

Then she was met with Bubbles and that recording, just as she was making her way to call Ms. Bellum. It was a shock, to say the very least, but she wasn’t expecting such a blasphemous situation to crash down on her and her sisters. The weirdest part to all of Saturday was that HIM fully intended on being there at _that_ time on _that_ particular day, probably knowing full-well He was expecting an uninvited guest to stop by. He must’ve grown tired of subtlety, because it was very...Unlike Him to be so upfront with a dilemma. She supposed four years was a long enough time to grow bored of subtleties…

Two particular lines from the conversation Bubbles recorded between Mojo and HIM replayed themselves like a broken record…

“ _Besides, if they did end up going good, I could kill them in an instant through my contract with Brick._ ” Those cruel words repeated in her thoughts. “... _Even if they fail to fulfill their end of the agreement, they can at least see this pathetic excuse for a ‘crime-ridden city’ one more time_.” The way HIM stated them gave off an insensitive disregard for the boys, as if they were leaves in the wind. It sounded to her like He was at His wit’s end with them — not surprising at all to her.

Mojo’s sudden silence after that kill-them line in the recording was dreadfully noticeable — if Blossom knew anything about Mojo, it was that he would jump right back into criminal mischief if it made the Rowdyruffs happy. He had always seen those three as his own, and considering his instincts deemed Mojo lethally territorial, he would protect them at any and _all_ costs.

And even if they were enemies, Blossom didn't necessarily _hate_ the boys. They were wasted potential, as most villains were, and could prove useful if they changed their ways. Despite their more annoying and childish side, Brick maintained a particular level of intelligence to counter her strategies, and his brothers followed suit, which made them place second in the most difficult to beat baddies. HIM being the most difficult right above them and the team’s contractual obligation was unnerving.

But she had a plan for every scenario she could think of. If they won’t change, then there’s no reason to waste time trying to rescue them. If there was enough potential for it, she’d guide her sisters to victory. Even if they would be overwhelmed and defeated — which was, while worst-case, a frightening thought — she had a plan. While expecting the worst, she hoped the best would rise above her worries.

Separating the strands of hair in front of her ears, she tied them together with the ribbon, creating her signature bow. She swiped a part of her bangs which had been sticking up, conducting one more check in the mirror before leaving to wake her sisters up.

Knocking on Bubbles' door, Blossom called to her. "Bubbles, we've got to start training soon! Don't stay in bed too long, okay?"

Admittedly, she didn't mind getting up early during summer breaks, but her sisters were a different story; Bubbles' inhibitions have a significant drop if woken up too early, bringing her to an enraged state of hostility. But if Buttercup were woken up early, she would do nothing but complain until they got to the action — one of the most irritating things to get used to.

Thinking of which, Blossom then turned to the other end of the hallway, giving Buttercup's door a light knock. "Buttercup —"

"Already up, Bloss! I'm in the kitchen!" Buttercup exclaimed from the bottom of the stairs.

Going down, she met with Buttercup on the first floor. "How long have you been awake?"

"Surprised, huh? Got up around five this morning, and just finished lifting weights in the dampening room before I realized I didn't have breakfast." It was typical of her to forget about basic necessities; she had to relearn most basic habits after the depressive rush of middle school.

"You’re supposed to train _after_ you have breakfast. And I thought we would all train together this morning — what happened with that?"

"Ehh, I may have jumped the gun a little bit. But I can't help it! Do you know how long I've been waiting to have that legitimate, equally matched fight?!"

Blossom rolled her eyes, amused by her sister's enthusiasm. "Too long, apparently."

"Exactly!" Buttercup punched a fist into her other hand. "I've only ever gotten fair one-on-one battles with Green! He never went easy on me, and that's the one and only thing I ever liked about him. He’s like Mitch, but if Mitch had powers, and had his ass-o-meter up tenfold!"

It was true; both Buttercup and Butch took their one-on-one fights seriously. A bit _too_ seriously. What started out as a genuine hatred for one another became more of a competitive sport to the green-eyed fighters — if it weren’t for the irrelevancy way back when, Blossom would’ve swore Buttercup started crushing on Butch. Bubbles started crushing on Boomer the day the boys were created, so it wouldn’t have been a shock.

Then again, Buttercup had love quarrels that showed she wasn’t exactly the type for relationships. When they were kids, she was manipulated by Ace into making Blossom and Bubbles go easy on him and his gang, and unknowingly caused the two girls to nearly be killed in an incinerator. After that, she always rejected any guy that looked her way; before Mitch tied the knot with Robin, he had to have asked Buttercup a good ten times at _least_.

That didn’t mean Blossom couldn’t tease the thought.

With a quiet laugh, she allowed a snarky grin to plaster on her face. “Sure, the _only_ thing…”

“What...? What do you mean...? I — Oh, oh _hell_ no!” Buttercup avidly shook her head. “Nuh-uh, _no_ ! Bloss, I am _not_ the same as Bubbles!”

Blossom unintentionally cackled. “Sure, sure, okay…”

“ _Blossom_!” Buttercup puffed out her chest. “If I was crushing on that little fucker, you'd think I’d make it obvious like how Bubs made goo-goo eyes with Blondie all the time! And besides, relationships are nothin’ but dumb, over-dramatic expressions of friendship. Most couples even call each other ‘best friends.’”

“If they’re _just_ expressions of friendship as you say, then how come you always denied Mitch when he asked you back in the 8th grade? You two are friends, aren’t you?”

“Because one, I never would’ve thought an ass like him was a sappy dweeb with romance, and two, he’s not — he’s like the brother I never had; I just don’t see him like a boyfriend. That’s _weird_.”

Just as Buttercup finished her sentence, Bubbles stepped into the room rubbing an eye, a blanket acting as a shawl over her shoulders. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Oh nothing,” Buttercup sneered at Blossom, “Just telling Bloss how she’s _wrong_ and _dumb_.”

As Blossom began to fill her home’s coffee pot with water, she couldn’t help but give out a snicker in response. “Buttercup’s just in denial about her feelings again.”

“I AM _NOT_ !” Pouting, Buttercup crossed her arms. “Once I kick his ass for the billionth time, you’ll see I haven’t, don’t have, and never _will_ have feelings for that psycho.”

Bubbles naively tilted her head. “Hmm? Oh, is this about a boy?”

With a nod from Blossom, Bubbles’ eyes widened and she gasped after she realized who they were talking about. “‘Kick his butt for the billionth time,’ ‘never had feelings for a psycho’ — wait, you have a crush on the green boy?!”

“Oh, my God.” Slapping her forehead, Buttercup groaned. “No, Bubs, _you’re_ the only one who’s ever crushed on one of those piles of —” Before she could complete her sentence with a profanity, her mouth went from an infuriated, teeth-baring frown to a snide smirk. “Actually, now that I think about it…Didn’t you and Cappy have that whole dramatic kiss, Bloss?”

As she turned the faucet off, Blossom practically jerked herself around to face her sisters. “So what? We’ve all kissed them before. And I didn’t even give him permission for that time; he just pulled me into a kiss out of _nowhere_!”

“Oh, what’s that? Did I make you mad?” Buttercup sarcastically questioned. “You’re even blushing as bad as you did when he kissed you!”

Bubbles giggled. “You two are both in _major_ denial. Now I’m glad I had the guts to admit my crush.”

“Is that so? In that case, at least _I_ got an official first kiss, Bubbles.” Blossom confidently went back to making her coffee, filling the machine with her previously obtained water. “You’re still waiting for Boomer to kiss you back.”

Making a small “eep,” Bubbles’ face flushed as she covered her cheeks in embarrassment. “Ahhhhh, don’t make me think of him! He’s too cute!”

“Uh huh ~ Ooh, and I bet he’s even _cuter_ now!” Buttercup caused Bubbles to practically curl up in her seat. “Besides, you made it known to the entire class that you were crushing on Baby Blue when you started wearing his sweater all the time in the winter.”

Blossom chuckled. “How adorable.”

“What’s so adorable now?” All three girls turned to the Professor with a shocked look, who practically snuck into the kitchen.

Bubbles, shaking her head, insisted on not answering his question. “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Just teasing one another about girl stuff.” Blossom spoke, grabbing the coffee grains from the cabinet. “Nothing to worry about.”

The professor jokingly narrowed his eyes. “I’d hope so.” He looked tiredly at the table, where he began to sit down. “Now, concerning the issue you brought up with me last night. I listened to the recording in full…”

“And…?” Blossom felt a twinge of discomfort in her chest as she turned the coffee machine on.

He replied grimly. “...It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever heard.” She could tell he was more than upset with the audio footage. As a father himself, it must’ve struck a nerve the girls couldn’t understand. “Those boys mean the world to Mojo…I mean, it’s understandable that HIM would be the one to not care about them, but that was harsh, even for His tendencies.” The professor turned to Bubbles. “I’m so sorry you had to hear that in-person.”

“It’s okay…” Bubbles sighed. “All I care about now is that we can save the boys…They’ve been going through, well, y’know…”

Buttercup finished Bubbles’ sentence, sitting down herself. “Literal Hell.”

“And saving them should be our top priority.” Blossom joined the rest of her family at the kitchen table. “It could backfire in a moment’s notice, so we need to be prepared.”

Rolling her eyes, Buttercup scoffed. “Pssssh, they can’t beat us. Those boys haven’t fought anyone since our last fight, and we’ve always won against them, right Professor?”

“Still, HIM could have been preparing them for a fight.” Advising the girls, the professor attained a parental protectiveness to his tone. “Your sister is right; you need to be prepared for any kind of situation. Speaking of which...”

Retrieving a small vial from his pocket, he presented it to the girls. The substance inside had a grey hue and was semi-transparent. There were also hints of red swirling throughout the concoction. Remaining attentive, each of the girls had varying feelings of curiosity.

Blossom smiled excitedly, trying not to overly express herself. “Is that what I _think_ it is?”

“Perhaps.” The professor gained a hint of a coy attitude as he placed the vial on the table for the girls to get a better look. “I don’t have a name for it just yet, and I’ll have to run a few tests with some DNA samples to see if its effects are how I’m intending, but my intention is to temporarily nullify the effects of Chemical X without removing it altogether.”

Bubbles questioned the grey blend of chemicals. “How did you make it?”

“If I’m being quite honest —” rubbing the back of his neck, the professor sheepishly admitted — “I have no idea.”

Nodding, Blossom sighed in relief as the coffee machine beeped, signaling the coffee was done. “I know it would be much easier to just use Antidote X, but from what I can gather through the conversation footage, they’ve already gone through more than enough pain and suffering.”

“And that stuff is _unbearable_.” Buttercup shuddered. “The stinging sensation, the near-instant knock-out — Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”

Bubbles rubbed an arm, recollecting the few times someone obtained the antidote agent and attacked with it. “Yeah...I wouldn’t ever use that against someone else…” Instinctively, she quickly changed her mood back to her average cheery self. “On a different note, just call this stuff Nullify X, since that’s what it’s meant to do!”

“Hmm. Not a bad idea.” The professor hummed. “Still, it’s merely a patent right now, and I’ll be using a few blood samples to conduct the tests. While I’m doing that, I want you three to train as much as you can. This battle will be a testament to how much you’ve learned over the years.”

Blossom was relieved that no one would need to test it on themselves. They didn’t have time to waste; they only had a little bit of time... _Wait, how much time do we actually have?_ She contemplated.

As she began to pour two cups of coffee, she glanced at the calendar. “So today’s Sunday — did you check the records for their birthday, Bubbles?”

“Yeah,” Bubbles responded. “It’s this Saturday.”

Blossom glanced back to the calendar once again after putting the pot back in the coffee machine. “August 9th, huh? Then let’s consider our rescue mission our birthday gift to them.”

“That’s the cheesiest quip I’ve ever heard,” Buttercup squinted to her sister in disgust.

———

“Final Formation: F-C!” Blossom called out to her sisters. Bubbles and Buttercup nodded, and regrouped with Blossom as they began to fly upwards.

Although they hadn’t used the formation in years, the girls recalled the strategy perfectly. Once they reached the early space close to Earth, they gracefully began to fly back down to the planet. Gripping each other’s hands, the three sisters began to spin as flames engulfed their bodies, forming a cat-like entity. Just as they reached the troposphere, Blossom once again ordered beyond the force of the attack.

“Break formation!”

Letting go of their grips, the fire surrounding them morphed back into mere flames as they split up. Barely taking back control of their flight back down, the Powerpuffs gently landed back into their backyard, where the professor nodded with an impressed smile.

“How did we do?” Blossom said, completely unphased by the force of the attack. “I think that landing needs to be stronger for tomorrow, just in case we need to split then as well.”

Finishing what he was writing on his clipboard, he looked to them satisfied. “You three were excellent. Wonderful job, girls.”

“What the hell?!” Mitch yelled out from Robin’s backyard. His tall stature allowed him to look to their backyard beyond the fencing. “You three went from being a giant fireball to nothing; it was so badass!”

Robin, on the other hand, could only reach her eyes past the fence. “That was so cool!”

“The Ruffs don’t stand a chance against you guys!” Going over to and opening the gate door both families installed years ago, Mitch and Robin went over to the girls — Mitch practically bolting over to Buttercup.

Holding Blossom’s hands, Robin cheerfully exclaimed, “Even after knowing you for ten years, I will never understand how you three are so strong!”

“Honestly, I’ll never fully understand it either.” Blossom chuckled. “The break of formation had me a bit worried, though. Spiraling out of control with that much force was a bit difficult to come back from.”

Mitch shook his head, surprised. “Your powers are just...insane!” Snickering from shock, he tugged Buttercup over to him. “They have literally no chance of winning against your strength.”

“You’re more excited about us kicking their a —” Buttercup corrected herself, knowing the professor was right by the house. “ — _butts_ than we are.” Nudging Mitch’s side, Buttercup expressed a devious smile. “But you’re totally right!”

Bubbles clapped her hands together. “I think we’re definitely prepared. We’ve been practicing since Sunday, and tomorrow’s the big fight, so unless they’ve got something undefeatable up their sleeves, we’ll be the winners of tomorrow.”

“If our plan works, we’ll _all_ be winners,” Blossom said confidently. “They’ll get out of their contract and _we’ll_ get three more team members.”

Overjoyed by the idea, Bubbles hopped up and down a few times. “Oh, don’t get my hopes up! I’d finally have a good reason to design new uniforms!” She gasped. “And all the new fashion and merchandising ideas! We’ll have to get a new team name, and a new logo — Ooh, and some really cool posters — Agh, why can’t they just show up _now_ and just ask to join us already, darn it?!”

“That would be nice,” Buttercup brought her sister’s excitement back down. “And even if it worked, that’s if they’re on board with it on Day 1 — which I _highly_ doubt — and if they don’t wind up, y’know…” She made a creaking sound as she brought her finger across her neck.

Even though Buttercup was doubtful, Blossom shared Bubbles’ excitement for the mission, but had a more realistic approach. Though it was more likely to fail, Blossom was confident in the plan.

Robin intervened with a suspicious grin. “Well, all things considered, I did a bit of research during the week —”

“More like ‘she was mumbling gibberish and scaring the ever-loving crap outta me in the process for a week.’” Mitch huffed, momentarily forgetting the need to censor himself. The professor’s narrowed eyes at the guy was enough to shake him up.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Robin couldn’t help but have that content smile on her face. “I read up on HIM and found what little legitimate records there were of His contract victims.” She unfolded a piece of paper she took from Mitch’s jean pocket, which he hadn’t known was there; confused blushing ensued. “And from that, I found out that during the process of forming the contract, the dealmaker gets to decide how they and others affected by the contract will die if the contract isn’t fulfilled. The person also has to be at least ten years old.”

“What the hell?! Where’d you hear _that_ from?!” Buttercup asked skeptically. “And if they had to be ten, how were they brought back a few months after they died?”

Robin replied, “I might’ve asked a more... _direct_ source, but it was someone who rejected their contract’s terms even after they selected a potential cause-of-death. They made Mitch and I sign a non-disclosure agreement, though, so we can’t say who we spoke to. I don’t really know about that last one, though...”

Mitch looked away from his girlfriend, annoyed and frustrated from who Blossom assumed was the source. Knowing the brunette couple, they went practically everywhere together, so he accompanied her during the aforementioned interview. Probably to keep her safe, as she could get a bit dangerous to herself for information, but Blossom admired his silent chivalry toward Robin.

“That’s more than enough information.” Blossom nodded, respecting the agreement. “Most of the plan is based on hypotheses and biological assumptions, but it’s not _that_ difficult to outsmart HIM. He’s cunning, manipulative, and sly, but He’s only ever stumped us with a few riddles or puzzles that took some time to figure out. And we’re not even fighting HIM Himself; we’re fighting the Rowdyruff Boys, which makes the situation entirely different.” A grain of cockiness influenced her confidence. “To say we already have the upper hand would be arrogant, but more than likely correct.”

Changing the subject to the team, she addressed her sisters. “Do you two feel confident in your skillset for tomorrow?” She looked to her sisters, who brought themselves out of their thoughts at her words. The two nodded in response. “Alright.”

“This strategy better work…” Buttercup mumbled along with muffled curses. “The last thing I want is Bubbles upset…”

Bubbles cupped a cheek. “Aww, don’t worry about me!” She glanced up to the clouds in the sky with solemnity. “But e’ll do everything we can. If the situation goes bad, then that’s how it’s meant to go. Even so...I’m _really_ hoping we have a good outcome...I’ve been too inspired for it to fail!”

Blossom nodded. “Agreed.” The group began to go inside, meeting with the professor. “Time?”

“Late enough to end your training for the day.” He said politely. “You all did spectacular, girls.”

The three thanked him, but before the group could all walk in together, Buttercup and Mitch were kept outside by the professor — Blossom figured it was to discuss watching their tongues once again. Blossom tsked them a number of times throughout the years, but even still, the two friends couldn’t curb their bad cursing habit.

It was practically second nature to them; usually around adults they were okay, but the professor was different. He was very polite and well-respected by most around him, which from the Professor’s point of view was probably a great thing. That politeness caused the jocks to be more lax with their language. It was also why they would feel genuinely bad if he scolded them. He cared and didn’t want them to get in trouble for using vulgarities in public — especially Buttercup — and they both knew that.

Robin chuckled softly. “Those two will never dock their ship, huh?” She also tried to help Mitch curb out the habit through their relationship, but it was something that she didn’t really mind to begin with. It didn’t really bother the three girls anyways.

“The captains of the century,” Bubbles giggled in agreement, “They’ll only go down with their swearing ship.”

Blossom suggested an alternative atmosphere. “How about we chat about something more fun? I don’t want to dwell on the worst-cases about tomorrow anymore.”

“Ooh, what about we start talking about all that new team stuff I mentioned before?” Bubbles excitedly brought her fists to the center of her chest. “I have so many ideas already!”

Seeming to be a bit more cheerful, Robin accepted the offer. “You don’t want to be considered separate teams unless that’s your intention.”

“It’s not…” Giving in, Blossom nodded her head. “But sure, why not?”

Already halfway up the staircase, Bubbles turned back to the other girls. “I’m gonna grab my notebook and sketchbook really quick!”

“You do that!” Blossom responded after she shared a knowing smile with Robin. They would be talking for a _long_ while. _How typical of Bubbles..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being a month late with this chapter was the WORST, I've felt so bad! I'm so glad I'm graduating at the end of this semester, I'll have a lot more time to put this fic into my schedule.
> 
> Anyways, I'm having a dilemma; would you prefer bulky, longer chapters every few months instead of only about 4,000 words each month? To me, 4K words is nothing and I don't really know which would be better, I wanna make sure my updates aren't too infrequent so I figured I'd ask you readers for what you would prefer!
> 
> Last (But never the least), thank you for all the comments and kudos! It means the world to me knowing people are interested in reading my stories.
> 
> Thanks to my beta reader, who I'll tag once she makes an AO3 account. Girl if it weren't for you I probably wouldn't have the guts to post this story on here!
> 
> Chapter 3 should release between a four-month period starting today (Depending on whether I choose the long chapter route or not, it'll be released sooner or later).
> 
> I wish you all a happy and healthy day or night!  
> \---  
> Update 08/18/2020:
> 
> Hey, everyone! I've decided that I want to write much longer chapters. Don't worry, this fic isn't on hiatus!
> 
> I've reconsidered a lot of the character dynamics and how I want the story to go. You may have noticed some of the changes in the tags, as I've removed the rape/non-con and underage tags. After a lot of thinking, I realized that this aspect of my original concept would be shown in flashbacks that would heavily clash with the flow of the story, and simply doesn't work with the updated characters, themes and ideas that I have for the revised edition. I hope this doesn't turn my current readers away, I can promise you all that the story is awesome even without the dark narrative I originally planned!
> 
> Because I've revised the overall story so heavily, I've been working on a redone story outline since the last update in May, and there's been a lot on my plate outside of this fic. I'm trying as hard as I can to get Chapter 3 out by September, but I would be prepared for a late September - early October release. Just know that you'll be getting a VERY big update, one that I hope is worth the wait!
> 
> As always, thank you all for reading, thank you for the kudos, and I wish you all a happy and healthy day or night!  
> \---  
> Update 10/28/2020:
> 
> I've recently had a lot of things going on, and have even started thinking about writing original works alongside this fic. As of right now, I've only completed a small bit of Chapter 3, so unfortunately I'm delaying it further, potentially to the end of the year -- if not by then, January 2021 for sure.
> 
> I REALLY hope I don't have to come back to this End Note soon, I want this chapter done as much as you all!
> 
> Thanks for reading, thanks for the kudos, and I wish you all a happy and healthy day or night!


End file.
